Recently I was interviewed by Patrick of Greenroom136 for his ongoing video interview series called ConcreteJungle. Previous episodes included interviews with comic book artists, graphic designers and other entrepreneurs.
I felt a kinship with Patrick whose main persuit now was making high-quality handmade messenger bags. Ater our initial meeting during this interview, I've since acquired one of his awesome bags. Great man, great work. It was wonderful to talk to him and appreciate the opportunity to be on his show.
I talk about my creative process, what I feel a musician needs to do to work in the modern music climate & how I got started playing guitar. I also perform a song for my friend Alda Tan.
[Note: The video's runtime is 46 minutes & 35 seconds.]
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Photo taken at Tokyo Bay by Kato Masaya.Today we have epic singer-songwriter/actor/producer Pete Teo. He's responsible for Songwriter's Round, a series promoting local Malaysian talent, award-winning albums & most recently - Undilah, a a pro-bono, non-partisan music video promoting the right to vote. [You can watch the video here]
The first time I met Pete was the very first time I played the open mic stage for Songwriter's Round at the old No Black Tie. Pete was very supportive and later on was one of the main people who encouraged me to record my debut album 'Acoustic Gestures' in 2004. He continues to be an inspiration to my work and is the embodiment of a hard working creative individual.
Let's find out what he's been up to!
1. What's your latest project?
I have just finished recording 2 songs commissioned by a Korean cultural foundation and 5 short films for Microsoft Malaysia. I am readying myself to write a few new songs for a regional Mandarin pop star and then make an ambitious music / film project in March or April. I want to work towards making a feature film this year also - but that depends on whether I'll find funding for it. Right now, I am just enjoying doing nothing for a few weeks. It's my first proper break for about 4 years.
2. What inspires your music?
Stories. Life. Experiences. They don't have to be extraordinary stories. The trick is to make something sublime out of the ordinary and unremarkable. It is not an easy thing to do, especially if one were interested to tell stories honestly.
3. What's your 5 Desert Island Albums?
Too many to choose from - but just on top of my head:
Van Morrison - Astral Weeks Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run The Band - Music From Big Pink Astor Piazzolla - La Camorra Leonard Cohen - The Essential Leonard Cohen
4. Who's one artist/musician that you love but most people probably don't know of?
Kim Doo Soo - Bohemian. Mr Kim is a cult Korean folk singer and 'Bohemian' is his ode to death. The song fuses both the eastern and western folk traditions into a simple whole - and it possesses the sort of organic complexity that all my favorite songs have. I read somewhere that when it was released in Korea, it caused several suicides. It certainly stunned me when I first heard it a few years ago. I must have put it on repeat for days afterwards. It made me glad to be a musician.
5. What's an advice you wish someone told you when you started in the arts?
I love music but have mixed feelings about the music business. I wish someone had told me when I first started that the music industry these days is no longer really about music. Still, a music industry veteran in Hong Kong did tell me years ago that music in itself is a musician's reward - so I guess being able to make music makes up for having to deal with the vagaries of a broken industry.
And before we go, here's a video from Pete's last album, Television.
This is 'Lost in America' - 2007 AIM Award winning video from Pete Teo's 'Television' album. Directed by Tony Pietra [live action] and Studio Voxel [animation].
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In today's installment of [Creative Fridays], we have Daniel Yockey from Candelaria, a Cumbia-Dub-Reggae band based in Oakland, California.
When I was living in California, I had the awesome opportunity to perform as part of Candelaria for a number of gigs. Playing with them is something I still miss after relocating back to Malaysia. Hopefully, we'll get to play together again sometime in the future!
Let's learn more about Candelaria...
1. What's your latest project? Right now Candelaria just finished our debut CD. You can find it on iTunes. We're playing around CA promoting it and hope to do some traveling this summer.
2. What inspires your music? Our inspiration comes from many different sources. Speaking for myself, I am most inspired when I'm playing with the band. Listening to what they create pushes me in directions I never would have though of without them. We try to keep things as positive as we can. We want our music to be an escape from the problems someone may be experiencing in real life.
3. What's your 5 Desert Island Albums? 1. Toto la Momposina-Carmelita - Colombian roots music at its finest 2. King Tubby-Dangerous Dub Really any King Tubby album. The guy who created dub music and still the best dub producer ever. 3. Toots and the Maytalls- 54-46 was my number 4. Mad Professor/Frente Cumbiero - The best living dub artist(Mad Professor) and one of the most cutting edge cumbia groups out there. 5. Greensleeves box set - One of the original roots reggae record labels.
4. Who's one artist/musician that you love but most people probably don't know of? Ras Zacharri. He's a relatively new modern roots reggae singer. He does a good job of combining modern style with roots sensibilities especially with the lyrics. Lots of modern roots has just too many cliches in the lyrics. Ras Zacharri keeps it righteous without being preachy and has some really catchy hooks. Check out his songs "Free up Time" and "Gather your Strength."
5. What's an advice you wish someone told you when you started in the arts? I wish someone had told me to focus on a few number of gigs instead of playing every week. Your band doesn't get burned out and each show takes on more of an event feel.
Sunday, April 29, 2012 at 10:30PM 
